T-Series drags Google to court

Music and entertainment major T-Series has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the Internet major of copyright violation.

The company has accused Google of showcasing its protected audio and video repertoire through its subsidiary and community site, YouTube.com.

Google and its subsidiaries "" YouTube and Orkut (a social networking site) "" are in trouble after various companies had filed suits alleging of posting objectionable or protected material.

An Indian scribe had earlier filed a suit in Mumbai High Court alleging objectionable content on certain blogs, while globally, International Cricket Council (ICC) and US entertainment giant Viacom had filed suits.

According to sources close to the development, certain videos and sound tracks of T-Series' latest movies, including Don and Jaan-e-mann, were available for downloads at Youtube.

This has enabled distributors and others to make illegal copies of the video clips and movies and sell these cheap in the domestic market.

T-Series alleges to have incurred a loss of around Rs 100 crore and is seeking compensation for the amount through a petition filed with the Delhi High Court.

T-Series had earlier sent a mail to Google vice-president (Asia Pacific) Sukhinder Singh Cassidy asking him to look into the matter. The company was also ready for a dialogue with the Internet major, which had been conveyed to Google. However, as there was no response from Google, T-Series decided to move the court.

Confirming this, T-Series President (Public Performance Licence) M M Satish told Business Standard, "it is disappointing to notice that a company like Google, which is considered as the next Microsoft, is posting copyrighted content on its site".

The company is moving the court under Section-14(e) of the Copyright Act 1957, which states that no person or company is entitled to use protected content in part or full, without written licence or permission.

When contacted a YouTube spokesperson said: "We do not control the content on our site. Our users post the content on YouTube "" including videos, comments and ratings. Our community guidelines and clear messaging on the site make it clear that users must own or have permission from copyright holders to post any videos. We take copyright issues very seriously. We prohibit users from uploading copyright protected material and we co-operate with copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content."

According to an analyst, Google and YouTube have a policy under the objectionable content clause, where by a user can mail details of objectionable content posted on the websites. Google will take action to remove this, if found to violate laws.